Shirt and like article of wearing apparel



Dec. 25, 1928. 1,696,679

E. HIGGINS SHIRT AND LIKE ARTICLE OF WEARING APPAREL Filed April 9, 1926 Patented Dec. 25, 1928.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST meenis, or emucnsrnnnnemnn.

,SHIRT AND LIKE ARTICLE OF WEARING APPAREL.

- Application filed April 9, 1928, Serial No. 100,866, and in Great Britain March 9, 1926.

This invention relates to shirts and like articles of wearing apparel and particularly to tennis, cricket and other sports shirts. although equally applicable to shirts for ordinary wear.

The object of the present invention is to prevent such articles from riding up at the back and in such a manner as not to interfere with bending and other movements of the wearer.

A shirt or like article of wearing apparel according to the present invention in its broadest aspect is provided with means whereby the tail of the article may be connected to the front of the article by a normally taut connection which passes between the legs of the wearer and such that such connection. becomes loose when the wearer bends.

A shirt according to one embodiment of the invention comprises an extensible band which is attached to the front of the shirt by one end at a pointjust below the apex of the usual front opening of the shirt.

The free end of this band is provided with means such as one 'or more buttons, clips or other forms of fastening device to which is adapted to be secured an extension on the lower edge of the tail of the shirt. ,The band on the front of the shirt may be made extensible by fitting a length of elastic or elastic webbing within a pocket forming part of or interposed in the length of the band such pocket being of a greater normal length than the elastic so as to permit' of extension to a controlled extent.

By means of such an arrangement the shirt may be put on overthe wearers head inthe usual manner, riding up of the tail during wear is prevented and the connection which is normally taut becomes looselautomatically when the wearer bends forward;

To enable the invention to be clearly understood an embodiment of the same will now be described by aid of the accompanying drawings in which 'Fig, 1 is a front elevation of a shirt according to thepresent invention showing the parts in the unconnected position.

Fig.2 is a similar but fragmentary View of the shirt showing the band and tail connected.

In the drawings a represents the body of This elastic when unex tended is shorter in length thanv the portion (Z containing it and such elastic serves to connect the upper portion to the lower portion of the band. The band is thus rendered extensible to an extent equivalent to the length of the portion d. The lower portion of the band 0 is provided at inter- .vals with buttons f or other equivalent fastening devices so that the tail 9 of the shirt may be afi'ixed to the band by its lower edge h which in the example shown is provided with a button-hole z for the purpose.

So that the tail of the shirt may be passed between the wearers legs for the purpose of securing the tail to the bandY: such tail is made longer than the front of the shirt and substantially pear-shape as shown the point or apex being central of the shirt and'forming the extreme lower edge of the tail.

By means of this construction the extended portion or lower end of the tail of the shirt when afiixed to the band- 0 is caused to overlay the bottom portion of the front of the shirt asshown clearly in Fig. 2 to an extent dependent upon the particular button out of the series of buttons to which such tail is afiixed. t 7

In consequence of the attachment of the band eto a point intermediate the length of the front of the shirt in conjunction with a tail of greater length than the front of the shirt the result is attained that the .loop formed by aflixing the apex of the tail to the band 0 automatically becomes slack when the wearer stoops or bends forward."

This is one of the essential features of the present invention and one that is not attained witha shirt having the front and tail of the same length and afiixing the two together by their lower edges, a construction which is adopted in the well known combination of a shirt and, pants, which latter and known garment cannot be put tail when afiixed to the band is slightly taut when the wearer is in an upright position, the required give being afforded by the elastic connection e.

What I claim is A shirt comprisinga front portion and' a back portion, said front portion adapted to be opened at the front above the waist line, a band attached to one edge of the front portion having a set of button holes therein for buttoning onto a set of buttons attached to the otherredge of the front portion, said band exending below the opening of the front portion of the shirt and having a set of buttons attached thereto, a

pear-shaped tail of greater length than the' front portion of the shirt, the apex of which forms the extreme bottom edge of said tail, and a button hole in said apex adapted to be secured to one of a plurality of buttons fastened to and extending up the lower portion of the band whereby said tail may be passed between the legs of the wearer and secured by its apex to one of said but-- tons, and resilient means above said second set of buttons to allow the said tail a certain amount of play and to take up any outward bulge of the front when the wearer stoops or sits down.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ERNEST HIGGINS. 

